Author Interview #3 Michael K. Rose writes for A Plague of Dragons

To introduce you to the authors, I'm posting an interview a day so you can get to know not just me, but all these amazing authors who joined me in creating this mesmerizing collection

Michael K. Rose is an author who is near and dear to me. He's my critique partner, co-writer and an amazing author. Most of my stories go through his scrutinizing eyes to perfection before publication. He writes gritty Sci-fi, fantasy and Paranormal. Prolific as heck. I got the privilege of meeting him at Phoenix Comic Con a couple years ago and we'll be at that same con this May signing books together! If you love a variety of addictive speculative fiction, he's the one to read.

Interview with Author Michael K. Rose:

Tell me a bit about your story.

“Brutality”
is the story of a young man living on a remote island that is terrorized by
dragons every generation or so. It’s written as a first-person narrative,
because I wanted the reader to experience the dragon attack through his eyes.
My stories generally tend to be pretty fast paced, and “Brutality” is no
exception. Once the action gets going, the tension doesn’t really let up until
the climax.

Are
there any aspects of dragon lore—and, subsequently, modern dragon fiction—that
you particularly like or dislike?

I
like the idea of dragons as manifestations of certain human traits, and it’s
something my story touches on. Think of the Norse story of Fafnir, the dwarf
who is transformed into a serpent or a dragon by his greed. In this aspect,
dragons are similar to many other creatures of folklore and literature: the
vampire, the werewolf, even Frankenstein’s monster. All these creatures reflect
the darker things lurking below the surface of our rational human minds.

Are you fond of films like Dragonslayer that depict dragons as mindless, violent
animals, or do you prefer your dragons with a bit more intelligence and,
perhaps, kindness?

I
like both, and there is room for both. While historically, dragons have had
very specific roles in human culture, modern writers and audiences have adapted
the idea into something much more expansive. The same has been done with the
creatures I mentioned a moment ago: vampires and werewolves. And perhaps
because they started as aspects of the human psyche, it’s only natural to see
ourselves in them and, in many cases, make them heroes in their own right. That
being said, I wanted to make this story’s dragons fit the more traditional
narrative, although they do have
intelligence, which is something the islanders in “Brutality” have to contend
with.

Alexia is a USA Today Bestselling author who currently lives in Las Vegas and loves spending every free moment writing or hanging out with her four rambunctious kids. Writing is the ultimate getaway for her since she's always lost in her head. She is best known for her award-winning Reign of Blood series, and A Dark Faerie Tale Series.
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